The Norwegian government has requested approval from the country’s parliament to buy six F-35 Lightning II aircraft for delivery in 2017, in a plan that sees it bring forward its initial purchase by a year but stretch out subsequent deliveries over a longer period.
Norway’s revised F-35 acquisition plans envisage delivery of six aircraft each year from 2017 until 2024. With four F-35s already being acquired for training purposes in 2015 and 2016, the total proposed Norwegian fleet size will reach a planned 52 aircraft.
“We have concluded convincingly that the F-35 is the only aircraft that fulfils our future operational requirements,” Norwegian Minister of Defence Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen said. “This continues to be true today and we have no time to lose. Our F-16s remain among the most capable aircraft of their kind, but they are also among the world’s oldest.”
